Gentle Pursuasion
by LeoOsaka Bakura's stalker
Summary: Yami's irritation level with Bakura rises, and he turns to the only other yami. However he didn't expect anything to come of it... Darkshipping, Clashshipping, and thiefshipping! warning for excessive yami potty mouths. COMPLETE
1. Part One

_Leo: Okay! Starts out a Darkshipping, and becomes a Clashshipping! That's right! I'm doing something OTHER than a Bakura pairing! But don't you worry! Bakura plays a nice BIG role in this XD_

**Gentle Persuasion**

_Part One!_

Yami groaned as he heard Bakura and Marik approaching. He was never happy to see them. They usually meant trouble. And 9 times out of 10 he wasn't proved wrong. He leaned against the counter as he heard the chime of the game shop as Marik nearly threw the door off the hinges.

"Hey there Pharaoh Jack of all asses!" Marik greeted.

"Yes, nice, and what do I owe the pleasure of your unexpected appearance today?" The pharaoh replied dryly as he felt the urge to roll his eyes.

"Oh relax pharaoh, I'm not here to kill you today!"

"Yes, yes 'TODAY', I suppose I should worry about tomorrow then?"

"OH can it, be happy that I'm being decent!"

"Speaking of which why ARE you being decent? It's so unnatural for such a creep like you and I think you're beginning to scare me like that, are you wanting me to send you to the shadow realm? Have you begun to miss it? I can see why you would, I mean you've been there enough times..."

"YOU'D BETTER WATCH IT YOU POMPOUS MIGIT A-" He ranted, but was cut off mid-way by Bakura who decked him in the side of the head with a fist.

"Knock it off! We're here for a REASON you idiot!" Bakura sighed as he folded his arms.

"What the FUCK do you think you're doing Thief? You think you can hit me like THAT?"

"Yes I do, now shut the hell up and get over it!"

"Why the hell shou-"

"AHEM!" Yami cleared his throat in an impatient manner. Marik growled and folded his arms, looking away angrily.

"Hey pharaoh," Bakura started keeping his eyes away from Yami's. "Look, I'm not going to sugar coat it because that kinda shit is what Hikaris do, so, would you go out with me this evening?"

Yami blinked. He shook his head and looked at the thief as if he's grown a second head. Unable to understand exactly what Bakura had said, because shock had wiped his mind clean, he muttered, "What...What did you say?"

"You fucking heard me! Damn it! Now go out with me tonight!"

"Um..." Yami was unsure of how to answer that. Or if he should even...After all it could be a trick. He never put anything past those two.

He really wanted to though...He wanted to say yes. He'd been asked by several others, but that's not what he wanted. He wanted someone more like him. And despite the beliefs of others, he and Bakura weren't as different as they thought. Yami wasn't the innocent angel everyone liked to think he was. He'd done his share of destroying souls and killing people too.

"Just say yes..." Marik rolled his eyes, after Bakura elbowed him, giving Yami a look that Bakura couldn't see.

"Um...okay..."

"Good, glad you've decided! I'll be by around 8-ish? That sound good? Good! Be ready by then! Ciao!" Bakura smirked, winking at the pharaoh as he walked out dragging the other fitful yami with him.

"OH my Ra...why did I do that?" Yami said out loud, not realizing that his power of internal dialogue had left him.

"Done what yami? You didn't make another mistake at the register did you?" Yugi asked carrying in a case of brand new packs of cards. Grandpa had decided to put the boys to work and in return they always got dibs on any new cards that came in. So it wasn't so bad, though Yami had quite a hard time getting used to the register...

"No...Not yet anyways...But I did do something else that was quite stupid..."

"What's that?" Yugi placed the box on the floor in front of the glass case. He sat down and opened the sliding door and began to place the items out on display.

"Bakura and Marik came in..."

"OH?"

"Yeah...Bakura asked me out..."

"...and you...accepted didn't you?"

"Yes..."

"I'm actually shocked...yami...?"

"Oh...shit..."

"What?" Yugi looked up blinking large amethyst eyes.

"We're out of register paper again..." Yami groaned, though grateful for the change in subject.

"Okay there's new rolls under that counter. I showed you how to replace it right?"

"Yeah, you take this thing out here, and-" He fumbled with the register itself.

"Don't forget to do a Z reading!"

"A what?"

"Never mind yami, I'll get it...You might want to go call Jou and tell him you've changed your plans tonight..." He said not wanting his yami to screw up the machine he and his grandpa absolutely needed.

"Oh, yeah he was doing that thing tonight wasn't he? Well you'll be there so I'm sure he won't miss my presence much. But I'll go call him."

"You should probably go ahead and take the rest of today off...Dealing with Bakura's going to take energy you know." Yugi suggested smiling like he always does.

"Are you sure hikari? I mean if you need my help..."

"No I got it I promise! So go!" Yugi stood up and pushed Yami out of the room. Yami blinked, shook his head then headed for the phone.

xxx

Bakura and Marik finally made it back to the Bakura house. Marik turned to Bakura and gave him a questioning look.

"What the hell was that!" He finally spoke.

"What?" Bakura rolled his eyes, growling deep in his throat.

"What you ask! You asked the fucking pharaoh on a date! YOU said we were going to torment him! So what do you do you ask him on a flipping date! I'd smack you right now if I wasn't lazy! Why the hell'd you bring me for THAT!"

"At least you're honest...And if he said no I was going to stick my tongue down your throat and laugh at him..."

"You're pathetic you know that?"

"Shut up you idiot, or I'll lock you out of your house." Bakura said opening the door and walking in, clearly aware that Marik was walking in behind him growling slightly. "And don't you get an attitude with me...I could easily do it."

"Yeah but that won't stop me from breaking your fucking front door down."

"Oh please, you know how much crap that is. Let's remember that I am the BADASS here? Okay?"

"Tch, what ever."

xxx

Yami blinked looking in the mirror. It wasn't exactly uncommon to see him clad in leather. That was the majority of what he owned after all. Part of him was still baffled at what made him say yes. After all the two were supposed to be mortal enemies and all.

'God, why am I making such a big deal out of this? This is all probably some big joke...Oh well, I'll be ready to banish him if it is. I'll think of a good reason to grace the shadow realm with his presence if need be.' He smirked, turning to look at himself one last time, knowing damn well he was looking good.

"Go knock him dead, yami."

Yami nearly jumped out of his skin as he turned to see his hikari standing in the door way watching him pose at himself in front of the mirror. He couldn't help but blush as he realized that he must have looked pretty damn stupid from Yugi's point of view. He coughed and tried to make it like he wasn't embarrassed, but it was a bad attempt as Yugi could see right through it.

"He's already dead hikari." Yami replied with a slight hue of red gracing his face.

"You know what I meant. I really do hope you have fun. You don't do this sort of thing often. And if he's just messing with you make the best of it. At least it's something other than duel monsters."

"What's that supposed to mean!"

"You have no outside life Yami, you could do anything you wanted. By god you have enough fame from winning many tournament. You could go any where you wanted, most likely free of charge, or really cheap. You should really make the best of it. Be sure to tell me how it went when you come back. I'm going to go close down the shop now." Yugi smiled walking out of the room.

"Alright..."

"Oh and yami," He returned. "If you see Anzu, duck, run, tell her I'm dead if she sees me."

"Eh?" Yami blinked shocked by Yugi's intent on avoiding her at all costs.

"I don't want to talk to her, she's clinging on to me as if I like her and it's driving me crazy. Or, or you could tell Bakura that Anzu is trying to get between Ryou and me! Ryou's his hikari, he'd go nuts! He'd fly into super protective yami mode and eliminate our problem!"

"Yugi, you really ought to just tell her you hate her and get it over with..." Yami shook his head chuckling at Yugi's inability to fully communicate with the brain dead dip stick.

"I guess I could...Either way, have fun!" He smiled and skipped away.

'Hmm, who knew Yugi had the heart to hate someone...I guess stranger things could happen.' He said buckling the last belt and grabbing his jacket to head down stairs as 8 o'clock quickly approached.

xxx

"Bakura I still think this is pretty pathetic! I mean if you want to get a piece of ass you could find it from someone better." He spoke idly, promptly receiving a shoe to the side of the head upon the completion of his statement. "OW GOD DAMN IT!"

"Shut up, that's MY decision to make. Don't even tell me you're jealous! Didn't you get enough ass from me already? For the love of Isis, we've done it in every place in BOTH houses, isn't that enough for you?"

"What if it isn't? What if I want more than the occasional fuck?"

"We've already been through this, Marik," Bakura said applying a touch of eyeliner looking in the mirror, as was his daily habit of life since he'd gotten so used to it in Egypt. At least modern eyeliner was easier to apply than Kohl was. "A relationship more than friends between us wouldn't work, you and I both know it."

"You say that but we've never tried it so how would you know?" Marik scowled sitting on the edge of the bathtub.

"Because we can't even get along as friends. There's more to a relationship than sex, though I do agree it to be the best part." He smirked at himself in the mirror.

"I know that! And if we tried-"

"Marik, just quit. I'm not worth all this fuss. Besides I don't want to HAVE to try." He picked up a brush and ran it through his unruly hair just enough to make it look presentable.

Marik scowled glancing over Bakura. He was like the unreachable pot of gold, waiting for a master thief to come steal it away. But when it's protector is an even better thief than you could ever search out, how do you go about winning that battle? To Marik, Bakura was within reach, but the part he wanted the most wasn't even close enough to spot: His heart.

"Marik stop mulling over it." Bakura sighed placing the brush back into its respective drawer. He knew Marik had some affixation with him. And he also knew that he had no intention of pursuing it further. He'd have to smother Marik's fire for him. Other wise the relationship he really wanted would never happen.

xxx

Yami waited outside the game shop door. There was no way he was walking alone. Besides Bakura said he'd come by. Why not let the thief actually come get his date. If he was going to be tricked by him, as yami truly thought was going to happen, than he might as well make Bakura go through real effort.

It wasn't long before he saw a black clad figure with glowing white hair. He nearly lost his breath as Bakura came into full view. He had a dark red body fitting shirt that came high up the neck but had no sleeves, a nice snug yet fitting pair of leather slacks, and a pair of boots that truly made him look like bad ass material.

"So Pharaoh, you gonna quit gawking at me and say something?" The thief snipped with sarcastic humor laced into his words.

"Eventually." Yami replied with an equal tone.

"Let's go then! You know I'm impatient!"

Their outing went exceptionally well from Yami's point of view; he actually enjoyed his time with Bakura, and learned that Bakura was an amazing dancer as well. Well...until he got up on the bar of the dance club...that was, well it WAS hot, but it almost got the two of them kicked out. However, Yami was not about to wish that scene away, and he was willing to let it replay in his mind for a while.

Bakura was surprisingly civil toward him and he was curious to this development. As far as he knew the two were never deemed friends, let alone anything more, yet Bakura seemed to have other things in mind. He didn't care really. Lust or not, he was more than willing. This was Bakura after all. And he was sure Bakura would leave him with something to remember. If nothing else.

Oh and that thief certainly did. And he was surprised when Bakura asked not but a few days later for a repeat performance. This time however...Marik and Malik were with them. Not really 'together' but as tagalongs.

"So where we going?" Malik chirped from the back receiving an irritable glare from Marik. Malik had been acting odd, and he didn't like the change. Especially when he wasn't the only one acting 'odd'. Well, Bakura was always odd, but this was a different case.

"Somewhere..." Bakura glanced back at Malik. "I have an idea!"

Marik and Yami spent an unusual amount of time together as they watched the two flit about, at random moments showing them something and chit chatting, much resembling two women shopping while tagging their husbands along against their will. But neither could really lie and say they hadn't enjoyed themselves. Because they really did...Yami learned that Marik wasn't as much of a freak, well okay he was, but not the sort of freak he's originally deemed him. Yeah that kind that rips out a person's heart and eats it raw. He swore to never tell Marik he thought that, just in case it was true.

Bein forced to be civil was hard for Marik at first and Yami could definately see that. But he seemed to soften up a bit more. And that was actually nice.

Yami thought over these things in his mind. So much had happened in the span of a week. And it almost seemed that Bakura was becoming a little imperious. And darn it all if he wasn't right. And he had to do something before Bakura drove him mad with his constant demand for his attention. After all, there are only so many times a person can call in a day before it gets to be irksome.

And so, as a last resort, he pulled his jacket off the rack and made his way toward the Ishtar house.

* * *

_Leo: This story is all prewritten before I even THOUGHT about posting, so there are three parts. And I'll have the next one up soon X3!_


	2. Part Two

_Leo: Warning, excessive use of every cuss word I felt like typing XD mainly the F word._

**Gentle Persuasion**

_Part 2_

"OH MY RA! Marik he is SOOO fucking over bearing! What the hell can I do to make him STOP!" Yami groaned pulling at his hair. He sat before Marik at the Ishtar house, his current hiding place from Bakura.

"I don't know, you said yes to him! Did you at least fuck him?"

"MARIK!"

"What? It was a good question! And if you didn't SHAME ON YOU! Bakura's like a crazy animal...He's worth putting up with his crap to fuck."

"You fucked him?"

"Yeah! We haven't been friends forever for NOTHING! Wait are you telling me you didn't!"

"...I did..."

"Good for YOU! I'm proud of you pharaoh! At least you show SOME qualities of being a guy!" Marik grinned and congratulated him.

"Hey not all guys are perverted!" Yami defended.

"Oh yeah...But Yugi's still to reach puberty yet. And Ryou...fuck that, Ryou's a damn girl...There's no other explanation..."

"Watch it there, Marik..."

"Oh relax, I haven't kicked you out yet. Or skinned you alive, hung you by your ankles and taken a 2 by 4, with a nail in it, to you."

"I should feel so lucky..."

"Don't be so sarcastic pharaoh or I may have to tie you to that chair and do bad things to you."

"Ooh...like what KIND of 'BAD' things?" Yami smirked as he leaned one elbow back on the counter.

"Not all guys are perverted, neh? You sly bastard. You've been hanging around me too much."

"You're the only one I can come to, to get away from Bakura! Granted he's great to be around SOMETIMES! But all the time...he's like sucking the life clean out of me!"

"Um...You're already dead there, Pharaoh..."

"GAH! Damn it you know what I mean!"

"Yes I did, but I thought it'd be nice to state the obvious. So what are you going to do about him?"

"Oh I don't know...Maybe I could wait til he's sleeping and tie him up inside a cardboard box and ship him to Alaska..." Yami replied, in a tone that was comically serious.

"I'm SOOO rubbing off on you! Next thing I know I'll get you to beat up little kids with me! Or hold up a 7 Eleven for ten bucks."

"That's a scary thought, and sadly I'm finding your presence more enjoyable than Yugi's friends..." Yami shook his head in slight disbelieve at his own thoughts.

"Well come on that makes much more sense! We're both yamis! We have more in common! Despite your righteous bullshit you're still the dark of Yugi's soul! Your the one who's supposed to do evil things!"

"Yeah, but you're..."

"I'm what?" Marik asked puffing out his chest defiantly.

"A Psycho!" Yami finally answered and Marik slumped back to his normal stance.

"Oh I thought you were going to say something I didn't already know...But STILL! I'm not THAT psycho...Okay yes maybe I am! QUIT giving me that LOOK! Oh pharaoh, is that lust I see in your eyes?" Marik cackled to himself.

"Maybe it is." Yami snorted. "But seriously! You have to help meeee!"

"And what am I supposed to do?"

"You're Bakura's friend! Talk to him!"

"Yeah okay, and have him rip my tongue out and hand it to me in a jar? NO thank you..."

"Oh come on! You're supposed to be like the ultimate psycho aren't you?"

"Yes, but why should -I- tell him?" Marik smirked glancing down the bridge of this nose at the pharaoh who was huffing.

"Please? I'll make it up to you?" Yami said sweetly.

"Like how?" One brow raised on the tanned face.

"Anything you want me to do!"

"Oh don't say that pharaoh, I could make you do something you may not like!"

"Try me." Yami grinned.

"Oh you're sly there pharaoh! And here I thought you were the conservative one!"

"You'd be surprised the things I can do Yami Marik." Yami slid out of his chair and sauntered over to the slightly psycho other yami.

"Oh? Looking to demonstrate?"

"I COULD...But you have to do something for me, yes?" Yami ran a hand along Marik's face as he straddled his lap.

"Very well, I'll talk to Bakura..." Marik couldn't help the grin spreading on his face.

xxx

X3

xxx

Marik walked into the Bakura house. Not even bothering to knock. That WAS after all the unspoken agreement. The Bakuras and Ishtars basically lived at each others houses. So sometimes it was hard for them to actually tell which one they actually belonged in.

"Bakura!" Marik said standing by the thief's door. "Kura you in there?" He heard a muffled mumble and the sound of the door being unlocked.

"Wha..." Marik blinked as Bakura's face appeared before him. Slight shock was a good word to describe it.

"Bakura, you look like shit!"

"Thank you, now go to hell." He moved to shut the door but Marik held it open.

"Seriously, you look like you're on your death bed!"

"Let me go back to sleep Marik." The mumbled reply came.

"Kura, I gotta talk to you..."

"Can't it wait? And have you seen Yami? I need to talk to him."

"Uh..." Marik blanched recalling the events that happened only a handful of hours before. "No I haven't seen him since you guys came back from your last date." He lied.

"Okay, what do you want to talk to me about?" Bakura blinked slowly as his eyes felt heavy. Marik could only assume he was sick. How else would that explain the feverish look the thief was displaying.

"Well...Um...never mind, actually, come to think about it, now that I'm actually here...I don't remember...It seemed important at the time..." Marik scratched the back of his head hoping his little white lie was believable.

"You are a fucking moron you know that?" And it appeared that it was.

"Yeah I know...You've told me...But I guess I'll go back to my house then sorry so bug you Kura!"

"You are not sorry, you asshole..."

"Heh you're right I'm not but oh well, do call if you need something. I take it Ryou went with Yugi to the convention today neh?"

"Yeah when Yugi was a psyched out and naturally he got Ryou that way too...You know how those things are...They probably won't be back until tomorrow..."

"I see...oh hey have you seen Malik? I've been looking for him. He closed off our mind link for some reason..."

"Uhhh..." Bakura blinked for a moment. "...No I haven't...Not since yesterday..."

"Yesterday? Where!"

"I meant, uh...the day before yesterday, silly me, I don't feel good, I'm going back to sleep, bug me one more time and I'll cut both of your hands off with a potato peeler, you under stand?"

"Yeah, yeah, like you'd ever do it..." Marik said rolling his eyes as he turned away from the door. "Later."

"'Yeah yeah' whatever." The thief's door closed, and Marik exited the house. He strolled over to his own, which was but three houses down.

He stopped before the door and took in a breath. He turned the knob and walked in. He was hoping Yami would still be sleeping up in his room, but that wasn't the case as he walked in to see the pharaoh curled up in a chair, with the TV on, but the sound off.

"What's up with the no audio bit?" Marik said walking past casually.

"Didn't feel like noise...So...Did you talk to Bakura?"

"Um yeah..."

"What'd he say?" Yami turned curiously.

"Well you see...when I started to try to tell him he kinda gave me the pitiful, 'tell Yami to call me please' look and well..."

"You didn't talk to him did you?"

"No," Marik said tapping his fingers together.

"Maaarikkkk!"

"I'll talk to him I promise! Though I think you should have told him yourself you pansy..." He mumbled the last part.

"I heard that! And you owe me buddy!" Yami pointed.

"Oh puhleeze, you enjoyed it as much as I did! Besides if you want to make us even I can always pay you back..." Marik smirked.

"I think you enjoyed last night a little too much there Marik." Yami shook his head.

"And so what if I did?"

Yami chuckled to himself. And Marik took a seat next to him. The pharaoh glanced over. Very aware of just how close Marik was. But he didn't seem to mind it. Of course it wasn't near as close as they had been the night before...Not by a long shot.

"So I take it you're not going to kick me out?"

"Nah, there's no point. I'd rather have the company. With hikari off doing what ever hikari's do...Speaking of which I wish I knew where he was..."

"You don't know where Malik's at?" Yami blinked looking at Mark. It was odd to think that Marik would have allowed his hikari to run around with out knowing where he was. That just didn't seem like a very Marik-like thing.

"No...He's cut the link off...He's hiding something, that sneaky little bastard...See you and Bakura are lucky! Both of your hikari's are like angels! Mine...well mine is much more psycho than those two..."

"Heh, a psycho given to a psycho."

"Hey hey hey now! This isn't a bash on Marik fest! Don't even get me started there! Because I could find twenty more things to make fun of YOU about!"

"Yes, but I could probably find just as many about you!"

"Could not!"

"Could too!

"Could NOT!"

"COULD NOT!"

"Could TOO!...GAH! You're evil! I meant the opposite!"

"Ah but Marik, you didn't SAY the opposite!"

"But-...fine, you know what you win! But that means you're doing dishes tonight..."

"Hey! That's not fair I won! And wait...Are you inviting me to stay over?" Yami blinked at the insertion of his invitation at such an odd time.

"Yeah, that's what I'm doing...don't look at me like that. With all the hikaris gone and Bakura looking like he's ready to kick the bucket at a moment's notice I wouldn't mind the companionship..." Marik's face turned away when he noticed the smirk spreading a cross Yami's face. "And that's all it is! Don't make me do something violent to redeem myself or something..."

"Marik...I've seen you violent before...though I hate to break it to you, your sending people to the shadow realm pales in comparison to Bakura's stringing people up by light posts and playing piñata with people's internal organs..." Yami snorted at the very idea. In truth, it was not a pretty sight to behold, but thinking about that concept in those words was too funny a thought.

"Yeah, I think he's a little more deranged than I am...but he's had more time to get that way I suppose...Spending THAT long in a shitty piece of gold would warp any one I think. Well with the exception of you...you're still somewhat mentally stable. I think..."

"Oh you only THINK so!"

"I was afraid of that...wait...no I wasn't..." Marik corrected himself and smirked smugly. Self-righteous pharaoh was annoying. Bad Ass pharaoh, who was actually corrupted, was good! Very good! At a multitude of things too, he snickered to himself as the thought ran through his mind.

"Now what are you thinking about?"

"Oh nothing." Marik lied with a shrug of his shoulder.

"That's not what your lap is telling me."

"What!" The blonde yami looked down and groaned in slight embarrassment. "Okay, so maybe I WAS thinking about something...that satisfies you doesn't it?"

"Yes, yes indeed." The other yami ran his tongue along his lower lip.

"Ooooh, don't you start that now! You know what that does!" Marik backed away to emphasize his point, not necessarily because he WANTED to per say.

Yami leaned closer and took Marik's face in his hands in a strong hold, brining the man's lips to his own in a fiery blaze of lust, and something else he couldn't quite put his finger on. All he knew was that he wasn't going to stop. He'd started and now it was too late.

"Mmmh..." Marik pulled away just enough to talk. "You're so going to get us in trouble." He breathed as Yami nipped at his lower lip.

"You started this whole mess, now you have to deal with it, besides this is payback for not talking to Bakura like you were supposed to..."

"Hey, hey, I'm not complaining." Marik pushed him back to the bed of the couch and slammed his mouth down on Yami's, who was more than willing to give up dominance to the bigger yami.

"Then shut up and have your way with me already..." Yami breath in an unsteady gasp.

"Your wish is my command pharaoh!" A crooked smile played on the lips of that tanned face.

* * *

_Leo: Oh hoh! I bet you wanna know what's happening X3! I think we all know!_


	3. Part Three

**Gentle Persuasion**

_Part 3_

"You know, Pharaoh, we've been doing this for a week now, don't you think we really ought to tell him what's going on?" Marik said before putting his hair under the running water and lathering up the shampoo. "I mean after a while I think he would just get pissed when he finds out. At least right now he'll be mildly upset. Rather than 'chop our heads off' upset. And in this circumstance I think it's okay to assume 'head' in the perverted manner."

Yami rested his head on his elbow as he sat up on the bathroom counter, glancing over every now and then to take notice of Marik's silhouette behind the sheer shower curtain. It would have been one thing if they were alone, but Bakura himself was downstairs, with Malik. Yami, being the ever so sneaky person he could be, snuck up into Marik's bathroom, after telling the others he simply needed to clear his head.

"I know we should, but it's going to be so hard! He's not an easy person to get along with Marik! You know that probably better than I do! Saying something to the effect of, 'oh I lo- er slept with your best friend for the last week', isn't exactly the greatest idea I've ever had…"

"It could be much worse Pharaoh."

"Like how Marik?"

Marik stuck his head out to look at him eye to eye, with a seriousness Yami didn't think the other yami could have. "Someone else could tell him. Then he would be more than angry, he would be morbid."

"Morbid?"

"Bakura's not JUST full of anger, Yami. Nor is he full of twisted glee. Bakura's a whole rainbow of emotions. And depression happens to be one he's very familiar with. He refuses to call it that, but there's no other reason he would stop eating for months at a time. Hell some of the times you didn't see him for long periods of time were probably because he couldn't stand, he was so skinny! We really do need to tell him before this becomes not only a problem for us, but for him as well."

"You seem genuinely concerned."

"I am, Bakura's…I'm about to sound like Anzu for a moment, please don't banish me to the Shadow Realm, my best friend. I don't think there's anything I wouldn't do for him!"

"It's good to have people you have faith for." Yami smiled faintly. He had hoped Bakura wouldn't hate him after this. Because Bakura really was a fun person to be around.

"Yeah…"

"Oh on a completely unrelated topic, I'm glad Malik finally came back, did you find out where he went?"

"No, little bugger didn't say anything! He just smiled and said, 'don't worry about it'. I hate that! I want to know where he went! But he just won't open his girly little mouth! Though it's good he's back. I was ALMOST worried for a while. ALMOST. I don't care yet." Marik ended and received a snort from Yami. "He's down stairs with Bakura I think."

"You know maybe we should tell him now?"

"What?" Marik looked at Yami incredulously.

"Yeah, I think he would be less likely to blow up if he had someone there to calm him down…besides us, of whom he will hate for a while…" Yami replied looking down at his hands that were stationed in his lap.

Marik turned the water off, after running his hands through his wet hair to make sure the soap was all out. He pulled back the curtain and grabbed for a towel to dry his hair. He didn't bother to cover himself. Not like Yami hadn't seen him before.

"Don't you think that may be humiliating to him though? I mean I would be embarrassed if you told me something like that in front of your Hikari or something like that."

"Marik? Embarrassed? Oh please!"

"You sound like such a prep." Marik rolled his eyes and threw the towel over Yami's head.

"You're cruel to even say such a thing!"

"Drama queen."

"Oh you finally noticed?" Yami smirked, peering out from under the towel that he'd neglected to remove.

"But seriously Yami! If we don't say anything this will eat away at both of us, more you than me, because well, you actually have a properly functioning heart." A snort from the smaller yami echoed in the small bathroom. "And really, I'd hate to have to add more and more days to that growing list you know? The longer it is the longer he's going to spend torturing us in the afterlife, for eternity when we all finally get there-or rather- stay there…"

"Yeah I know what you mean. But I feel bad…Because I'm the one still keeping him in on this…You're just the best friend who betrayed him…That's not as bad…I'll be deemed asshole of the year…"

"Yes, and I'll be deemed 'ass hole of the year's boyfriend', a.k.a. 'boyfriend stealing bitch of a best friend'."

"Hey at least you have options."

"Oh, don't you think you're cute?" Mark slipped a leg into his khaki pants, while rolling his eyes, like he always seemed to do anymore.

"Yes, yes I do."

"Well, looks like I'm not the ONLY one conceit bound."

"I'm entitled. Why don't you wear dark pants?" Yami asked out of random, while watching Marik pull his slacks to his waistline.

"You know…" Marik stopped and looked at him. "I really don't know…And it's not like you complain when you're basically molesting me in public!"

"Hey YOU started THAT!"

"Says you."

"Yes says me," Yami smirked, buttoning the shirt Marik has slipped on. He leaned against him and craned his neck as the bigger yami indulged him in a rather sultry kiss. Marik ran a tanned hand through those unusual locks, and then noticed the sudden change in demeanor. He pulled back to look down at those violet eyes.

"Yami? What's wrong?"

The look in Yami's eyes was almost one that would be described as confusion, or maybe a repressed thought that he was afraid to speak. Marik could see him steadily chewing at his lower lip, as if it would make, what ever was bothering him, any better. Yami looked down momentarily, but Marik lifted his eyes back up to meet gaze with his own. He wanted to know what was the cause sudden change.

"Pharaoh, talk to me."

"I…" Yami paused. "I don't want to say it…because I don't know how you will react…"

"What do you think I'm gonna go psycho on you?"

"That seriously depends…"

"Okay the ONLY way I would go psycho on you is if you were seeing Anzu…I would HAVE to kill you then."

"No, no NO GOD! NO! Don't even joke like that you ass! Besides I'm not a player! …For the most part…" He added remembering Bakura downstairs.

"Then what's the problem?"

"I love you."

Marik's breath caught in his throat for a moment has his brain tried to register that. That wasn't what he was expecting. And he certainly never thought he was going to ever hear those words spoken to him! No less by his 'great nemesis the pharaoh'! He blinked with his mouth hanging slightly open and it took a moment before he even registered that he must have looked like a dip shit, while making Yami in the slightest nervous.

"I…" He finally spoke, his brain returning from its temporary strike. "And here I thought you were gonna say something bad…" He mentally beat himself with something blunt, for lack of ability to come up with a better line than that!

"You're not mad? Or creeped out? Disgusted even?"

"No…Should I be? Because if that's what you want…I'm a pretty good actor I think…"

"You're a smart ass…" Yami chuckled seeming relieved.

"Feel better?"

"Yeah…though I think we really should get back downstairs…or at least I should, you should wait a few minutes before coming down too…I mean that would be kinda suspicious if we came down together." Yami suggested.

"Yeah, that sounds reasonable. Go on now, I'll catch up later."

"All right! Later!" Yami winked opening the door and slipping out.

"Yami!" Marik whispered loudly so as not to catch attention from any BUT Yami. The smaller yami slipped his head back in the door and shot him a questioning glance.

"I love you too…" A pale tint of crimson graced the tan face, which only made Yami smiled all the more.

"I know Marik, I know." The door closed and Marik breathed out .

"Man that's harder than I thought!" He spoke to his reflection and smiled. "But worth it I guess."

Yami walked down the hall quietly as he heard laughter from the other room. He stood in the hallway behind the two people sitting on the couch in front of the TV. Malik and Bakura were sitting next to each other, rather close actually, and playing a trivia game that they accessed through the satellite. Bakura had the control and Malik had the pop corn, while they had music from the stereo in the background.

"Okay, here's a question you'd better get right. Which Group sung "Stairway to Heaven? a. ACDC, b. White Snake, c. Led Zeppelin, or d. Bon Jovi…If you even say D I'll kill you right here." Bakura spoke to Malik who seemed to ponder the question.

"Um…A?"

"No, they sung 'Highway to Hell', baka, not Stairway to Heaven."

"Oh…Um…C then."

"Good good, that's right. What were they thinking even putting Jovi in there? That's not even in the right category!"

"Ahem." Yami decided to make a signal that he was there. Bakura turned his head and waved to Yami. Not even bothering to make a move to explain why he was so close to Malik or that he'd even remembered being that close to the lithe Egyptian boy.

"Come play trivia with us Yami! I'm totally smoking Malik!"

"He cheats, Yami, I swear he does." Malik grumbled.

"Oh hush you, I only cheat at duel monsters!"

"Oh so now he truth finally comes out!" Yami snorted, rolling his eyes.

"That's NOT the point…what took you so long?" Bakura asked patting the seat next to him to suggest that he come over and join them.

"Just had to get some air. Your bedroom window seriously has issues…The glass fell out on me twice."

"Yeah…I suppose I should get that fixed neh? Though it only seems to come out on you…" Bakura snorted clicking the enter button on the remote.

"You know Bakura…It's not really fair, because you have the control!" Malik whined as the next question popped up.

"Oh hush, I haven't cheated once! You claimed you could beat me!"

"Yeah and I didn't think you would know anything about classic rock!" The Egyptian huffed and folded his arms curling himself up under the blanket the three now shared.

"Just shut up, okay the next question is, What Classic Rock group produced the Album that sold at the top of the charts for the record stretch of time…was it a.-"

"It was Pink Floyd, Dark Side of the Moon."

Bakura leaned his head back to look at Marik upside down. "Hey that was Yami's question! And you're not allowed to play this game any more, remember? You know all this crap better than a normal human/spirit should!"

"All the more reason for me to wipe the floor with you my darlings!" Marik gave a snort cackle.

"Sit Marik! There's a nice comfy seat beside Yami, I'm sure he won't mind. Unless of course you still want to gouge each other's eyes out."

Marik looked at Yami nervously and hesitantly sat down, yelping quietly as Bakura threw part of the blanket at him.

"Brrr…. Why don't we have a fireplace again? Man that would be sooo nice…" Bakura shivered slightly.

"Kura, the more you think about it the colder it will seem…" Malik chuckled rubbing Bakura's arm.

"Damn it Malik your hands are like ice!"

"Hey I'm sorry! I'm cold too!"

"Hate to interrupt, but whoever's question that was, they just totally missed their time limit." Marik spoke.

"Damn! That was MY question!"

The four of them continued to play even as the snow pounded at the door. None of them were too fond of cold weather, after all they did ALL come from Egypt. After an hour or so, they finally whipped out the big blankets.

"It's kinda nice you know… I think Ryou and Yugi are totally missing out. Though they're probably having a blast at the convention."

"I though they just came back from one?"

"Yeah, looks like they're at another one…" Malik replied.

"Oh yeah, where did you go during the time they were gone hikari?" Marik looked a Malik.

"Oh I was around. You just didn't look hard enough."

"What kinda answer is THAT!"

"Same kinda answer I might get from you if I were to ask you 'what the hell have you been doing with Yami for a week and not telling me?'."

"Uuuuh…." Marik's face changed colors dramatically, as did Yami's.

"Yeah don't think I didn't notice! Tch! I'm a lot more observant that you two give me ANY credit for, geeze…" Bakura snorted, popping a few kernels of popcorn into his mouth.

"Wait…you're not…mad?" Yami blinked as he took in the behavior Bakura was displaying even after learning he was being cheated on.

"Oh hell no! Actually it's about friggin time! I thought it was going to take some sort of act of GOD to get you two together…Looks like you guys did all my work for me."

"I'd say that were a mission successful, neh, Bakura?"

"I do believe so Malik."

"Wait! Malik knew about this! Hikari! What's going on!" Marik growled at his hikari, who only blew a raspberry at him in response.

"Of course he knew, he helped me think up the idea after all."

"Yeah and now that you have yourself a new boyfriend Yami, can I have mine back now?" Malik chirped.

"Hold on! WHAT did you say hikari?"

"Uhhh….No comprender?"

"Don't pull that crap with me hikari! Since when we're you with Bakura!"

"Ummm…about 6 or 7 months…I forget…"

"And you should thank me. You two were so oblivious to each other, and it took a little 'gentle persuasion'... Besides…I had to get Marik to stop pinning after me…" Bakura beamed with an achieve glee.

"You're a sly little bastard you know that?" Marik slid back down against the couch.

"But of course! And I even went through the extra trouble to be the biggest royal pain in the ass I could be!"

"I noticed." Yami grumbled.

"Heh, just shut up and answer your question baka. You'll thank me later."

Malik leaned up against Bakura shoot Marik a sly little grin. Marik shot his hikari a slightly threatening glare and proceeded to ignore him by whispering several idea for torture into Yami's ear. Bakura and Malik left the two to their whispering and continued their trivia game, until they finished and started over selecting a tag team option.

"Hey, you guys are playing with us this time." Bakura nudged. "…It is just me or do I hear wedding bells?"

"Bakura!"

"Now that I got your attention, you owe me at least ONE game of my totally kicking your asses in trivia."

"Fine, but I ain't going easy on you."

"You never do."

"Oh and Bakura?"

"Yes Marik?" Bakura sighed turning his head to look at Marik, who was insisting on stalling his inevitable defeat.

"Thanks…"

Bakura smiled. "No problem, Marik."

**Owari!**

* * *

_Leo: Le End! I hope that didn't suck major horseradishes : D! I wrote this for my yami-lovely! And I hope you like the ending yami! ;3! Your hikari loves you!_


End file.
